What passed, what failed — and what it means for the Great Salt Lake
We’ve assembled a quick roundup of what happened with some water bills during the final days and hours of this year’s legislative session. Many have big implications for the Great Salt Lake and still await the governor’s signature. Let’s dive in.
Water rate hike gets tossed
Utah is bracing for a deluge of new water infrastructure needs to the tune of $1.2 billion, according to a report lawmakers commissioned in 2024.
Utahns currently spend about 2% of their modified adjusted gross income on water utilities. The Environmental Protection Agency conducted its own assessment on water affordability in 2024 and landed on 4.5% of MAGI as a threshold, but also found a 3% threshold is more suitable for low-income households.
HB 501 called on cities and towns to increase water and sewer rates to that 3% figure.
Some lawmakers found the bill unsavory, particularly those representing rural districts where water providers often serve only a handful to a few dozen customers. Other opponents worried it would have a disproportionate impact on low-income households.
The bill’s sponsors tried to make the legislation more palatable by ensuring the money collected stays with local water providers, making the rate hike optional and holding off implementation until 2031. Despite some movement on the final days, the policy ultimately failed to get a vote on the Senate floor.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Rep. Jill Koford wears a Great Salt Lake pin in the House Chamber at the Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026.
New data centers get scrutiny
HB 76 was a much-anticipated bill requiring large data centers to notify water providers about their projected demands, and share information about their actual water consumption with the state. Rep. Jill Koford (R-Ogden), who has largely taken up the yoke of championing Great Salt Lake and water use policy in the House, sponsored the legislation.
Despite apparent support from water advocates, water districts and unanimous support in the House, the bill nearly got sunk by the Senate. It initially failed there by just two “nay” votes, but after adding a provision that the policy would only apply to new data centers, it earned approval in both chambers.
Lawmakers thank Trump for acknowledging lake’s plight
HCR 9 urges the federal government to offer up more help for the Great Salt Lake, which remains on life support after a lackluster winter. President Donald Trump gave a glimmer of hope when he posted to social media last month about making the lake “great again” after meeting with Gov. Spencer Cox. The governor is seeking $1 billion from the feds to help the lake recover, but whether that money will come remains up in the air.
The resolution highlights the lake’s significance, including the contribution of its brine shrimp to a global seafood industry, and notes what’s at stake if its decline continues, like worsening dust storms and accelerating snowmelt ahead of the 2034 Olympics. It also praises Trump for highlighting the lake, which apparently caused Sen. Nate Blouin, a Democrat representing the Salt Lake area, to bristle. He introduced a substitute resolution on the last day of the session that removed references to Trump and acknowledged the role of agriculture and climate change in the lake’s desiccation. The changes proved unpopular, especially the references to farming, and immediately failed.
The measure passed the Senate, with only Blouin voting against, and also received overwhelming bipartisan support in the House.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) A vigil for the Great Salt Lake at the Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. The event and march around the building were organized by the Making Waves Artist Collaborative.
State water leasing policy sees more revamps
Lawmakers have landed on water right leases as their primary strategy for rescuing the Great Salt Lake. They’ve tweaked Utah’s water law nearly every year since the lake hit its first modern record low in 2021, and both HB 348 and HB 410 fine-tune those policies further with the aim of getting more farmers to participate in leasing.
The bills create an official state program and streamline the state engineer’s ability to prioritize and approve lease applications. They also create limits so farmers can only lease water two out of every five years to provide some reassurances that the leasing program isn’t designed to take agricultural lands permanently out of production.
The bills further ensure water makes it all the way to the Great Salt Lake instead of getting diverted by another irrigator downstream.
HB 348 didn’t get a vote on the Senate floor until the final day of the session, but proved uncontroversial.
HB 410’s approval seemed like a sure bet as well, since it garnered broad support from the agricultural industry. But it hit a snag in the Senate. The upper chamber attempted to amend the bill, to the consternation of Koford, the bill’s sponsor. After a conference committee that lasted less than three minutes, the two chambers agreed on changes and a curtailed budget of $2.75 million instead of $5 million.
A Great Salt Lake catch-all bill
HB 247 ballooned from a bill that was supposed to ensure taxes collected from the Great Salt Lake’s brine shrimp industry stay in an account dedicated to the lake. On the final day of the session, however, it expanded to address several loose ends regarding the Great Salt Lake. It allows a portion of the brine shrimp revenue to be used for the state’s new water leasing program. It also addresses fallout from US Magnesium’s closure and purchase by the state. It gives mineral extractors Cargill and Broken Arrow, which depended on US Mag’s Great Salt Lake water rights, a year to sort out a new contract with state regulators. It also allows the Department of Natural Resources to keep any settlements or judgments associated with state lands near the lake.
Part of the Great Salt Lake protected in federal bird refuge
HJR 30 wasn’t exactly controversial, but it popped up on the final day of the session and was approved with less than two hours to spare. It puts to rest a decades-long feud with the federal government over ownership of Great Salt Lake lakebed at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
Lawmakers decline to step on nonfunctional turf
Taking a whack at nonfunctional turf — grass areas that aren’t actively used for play and pets, but still irrigated to remain green and pristine — has popped up and failed nearly every session for the past five years.
HB 328 would have limited overhead sprinklers on nonfunctional turf in new commercial, industrial and institutional developments within the Great Salt Lake basin. Residential lawns would have been exempt.
The bill cleared the House, but floundered in the Senate and ultimately died.
Water right reviews get reined in
HB 60 was one of the most controversial water bills of 2026. It gives the state engineer’s office the ability to streamline the approval process for the thousands of water rights and water change applications they receive every year.
Another part of the bill, however, hemmed in the definition of “public welfare.” The state engineer, for example, won’t be able to consider concerns handled by other agencies like air quality and recreation. Some environmental and water watchdogs viewed the changes an attempt by lawmakers to cut back advocates’ ability to protest and sue the state during the water rights approval process.
Both the House and Senate Republican supermajorities approved the bill despite pushback from Democrats and some Republicans. Like most the bills on this list, it awaits the governor’s signature.
Salt Lake Tribune reporters Robert Gehrke and Emily Anderson Stern contributed to this story.
Note to readers • This story is made possible through a partnership between The Salt Lake Tribune and Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization.
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